The present invention relates generally to storing and transporting cargo on pallets. More specifically, the present invention relates to a pallet wrapping apparatus for stabilizing cargo on a pallet for storage and transportation.
In the field of cargo storage and transportation, pallets are extensively used for supporting such cargo, which includes goods and containers for goods, in a storage facility such as a warehouse. A common problem associated with this storage and transportation method is the tendency of the palletized materials or cargo to fall off of the pallet during transport. Transport commonly shakes the stacked loads and causes them to collapse which results in damaged merchandise and a danger to persons handling such unstablized stacked goods.
Attempts have been made in the prior all to stabilize palletized articles to prevent the aforementioned problems. Pallet wrappers are used extensively by both commercial and industrial establishments to secure articles on a pallet to facilitate the pallet being transported throughout the establishment and perhaps to the point of display, for example. These pallet wrappers are placed about the stacked articles on the pallet to prevent them from moving and shifting during transport. These pallet wrappers are often used to prevent the cargo from falling off the pallet while being transported on the ground or in a forklift for storage on shelving.
The pallet wrapping apparatuses of the prior art include disposable plastic film from a roll as well as reusable devices which secure about the perimeter of the cargo stack. The disposable plastic film is typically dispensed from a roll and wrapped about the cluster of articles or cargo stacked on the pallet. The plastic film is typically started at the base of the pallet and wrapped up and around the cargo in spiral fashion to stabilize the cargo in place. Since the plastic film is flexible with elastic qualities, irregularly shaped articles can be easily accommodated during wrapping process. Despite the aforementioned advantages, plastic film must be cut away from the cargo when the cargo reaches its destination and cannot be reused resulting in considerable plastic waste.
To combat the excessive waste associated with plastic film wrapping, efforts in the prior art have been made to employ a reusable device for stabilizing a cluster of articles. These devices typically include a flexible and resilient heavy-duty material with some type of fastener connected to the edges of the resilient material. The material, usually in the form of a sheet, is wrapped about the stacked cluster of articles and then secured in place by its connectors. Each of the known reusable pallet wrapping devices of the prior art do not easily accommodate irregularly shaped articles due to the fixed size of the sheet of resilient material which is sized to be substantially equivalent to the perimeter of the article cluster. Thus, in the prior art, the resilient sheeted material is wrapped only one time around the cluster of articles. Therefore, it cannot be easily adapted to article clusters of varying sizes.
Due to the demand for a pallet wrapping apparatus, which does not produce waste and can accommodate a wide array of article cluster sizes and shapes, it is desirable for a pallet wrapping apparatus to be reusable with a configuration and design which is universal to easily accommodate any type of article cluster which is disposed on a pallet. It is also desirable for a pallet wrapping apparatus to closely simulate plastic film wrapping and its ability to accommodate article clusters of different sizes and shapes. It is also desirable that a reusable pallet wrapping apparatus provide superior cluster retention characteristics which are typically only associated with plastic film wrap.